Alésia
by AJ Connor
Summary: When courier Alésia Connor was shot in the head and left for dead, she didn't want revenge, she just wanted to know why. When she set out to find the only man who had the answer, her path lead her to meet a new face in the Mojave who opened the door to some deep questions, interesting revelations, and many painful memories. F!Courier/Amata Almodovar (warning femslash and swearing)


**Prologue  
Viva New Vegas  
**_In nuclear war, all men are cremated equal -Dexter Gordon_**  
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_**Important note: I've just moved to a new area, and internet access is sketchy at best until I get something decent set up with a living situation, etc... Also, my laptop is attempting to die, so chapters may take awhile to post for the time being.**_

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_**War. War never changes.**_

Since the dawn of humankind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything from God, to justice, to simple psychotic rage.

Rome waged war for centuries in its quest to gather slaves and wealth. Spain discovered a new world and built an empire from its lust for gold and territory. Hitler led a military conquest that shaped a battered Germany into an economic superpower.

_But war never changes..._

In the later part of the twenty-first century, war was waged once more over the limited resources that could be acquired, only this time, the spoils of war were also its weapons: petroleum and uranium. To secure these resources, China would invade Alaska, the United States would annex Canada, and the European Commonwealth would dissolve into quarreling, bickering, nation states bent on controlling the last remaining fossil-fuels on Earth. The end result was inevitable. Everyone who entered the conflict expected victory. Everyone was optimistic. But as hostilities escalated, optimism faded, and society began to collapse.

In the year 2077, after millennia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. The Earth was nearly wiped clean of life in a great cleansing, an atomic spark struck by human hands, that quickly raged out of control. Spears of nuclear fire, blindly thrown in all directions, rained from the skies over every corner of the planet. Whole continents were swallowed in flames and sunk beneath the boiling oceans. The world was plunged into the empty abyss of a nuclear holocaust. Humanity was almost extinguished, their spirits becoming part of the background radiation that now blanketed the Earth.

But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of history.

_Man succeeded in destroying the world, but war... war never changes..._

A quiet darkness fell across the planet, lasting many years. Few managed to survive the devastation. Some had been fortunate enough to reach the relative safety of enormous underground fallout shelters known as "vaults." One hundred twenty-two were built across the United States and advertised to the population as refuge from the coming storm, and on the day the Earth burned with atomic fire, their massive steel doors sealed shut, imprisoning their inhabitants safely within their thick, concrete corridors. When the great darkness passed, the vaults reopened, and their populations set out across the ruins of the old world to build new societies, establish new villages, and form new tribes.

As decades passed, the societies of the American southwest united beneath the flag of the New California Republic, a government formed in the mold of old-world traditions dedicated to the values of democracy and the rule of law. As the Republic grew, so did its needs. Scouts spread east, seeking new territory and wealth, in the dry and merciless expanse of the Mojave Desert. They returned with tales of a magnificent city of lights in the middle of the desert; one untouched by the warheads that had scorched the rest of the world, and a great wall spanning the Colorado River containing a generator capable of producing more power than any the Republic had at their disposal. Seeing the immense potential of this discovery, The NCR immediately took action by mobilizing its army and sending it east to occupy the Hoover Dam and restore it to working condition.

But across the Colorado, another society had arisen under a different flag. A vast army of slaves, forged in the conquest of eighty-six tribes: Caesars Legion. Inspired by his study of the ancient Roman Empire and Julius Caesar's own Commentarii, Caesar declared himself the son of Mars, Roman god of war, and claimed that the Earth had been cleansed in atomic fire to make way for a new society free of the corruption of the old world. Using a small band of well trained, dedicated followers, Caesar set out on a brutal campaign against the tribal communities scattered across the lands to the east of the Colorado River. As each was conquered and absorbed into his ever growing Legion, Caesar stripped its members of their former identities, and reformed them into fanatically loyal soldiers willing to obey their emperor to the death.

Having met virtually no resistance or significant defeat in his conquest of the east, Caesar set his sights to west, and recognized the NCR as a worthy adversary against which he could wage a military campaign worthy of his namesake. And just as his namesake had done when he captured Rome during the Roman insurrection nearly two thousand years prior, Hoover Dam would be his bridge over the Rubicon, leading him to New Vegas, a city worthy of being called his Rome. Caesar commanded his top general, the Malpais Legate, to assemble his troops and launch an assault against the NCR military stationed at Hoover Dam. As Legion forces marched on the dam, the NCR suffered heavy casualties and victory for Caesar seemed assured. However, as the NCR retreated, they lead the Legate and his forces into a trap, triggering a humiliating defeat for the Legion. As punishment for his failure on the battlefield, Caesar ordered the Legate to be coated in pitch, lit on fire, and tossed into the depths of the Grand Canyon as an example for others that future failures would not be tolerated.

Four years have passed since the Republic held the dam, just barely, against the Legion's onslaught. Despite their failure, the Legion did not retreat. Across the river, campfires burn and training drums beat as they gather their strength in preparation for a new assault on the dam. Though the NCR maintains constant patrols along the borders, bands of Legionaries continue to cross the Colorado, attacking any traveler, caravan, or settlement they see bearing the NCR flag in an effort to weaken and demoralize their opponents.

Through it all, the New Vegas Strip has stayed open for business under the control of its mysterious overseer, Mr. House, and his army of rehabilitated Tribals and police robots. Since the signing of the treaty of New Vegas, the city's economy booming as tourists and military from all corners of the NCR flock to the Strip to throw away their hard earned salaries on dreams of fortune and every sin imaginable. Despite the ongoing war between the NCR and the Legion, Mr. House has a plan of his own for the future of the Mojave and humanity as a whole, though for now, he maintains his silence; biding his time until the arrival of a long awaited package which may prove the difference between success or failure.

Alésia Connor is a courier, hired by the Mojave Express, to deliver this package to the New Vegas Strip. But just outside the small Nevada town of Goodsprings, what seemed like a simple delivery job suddenly takes a turn…for the worse. Ambushed by a group of men in the dead of night, she is beaten, robbed of her package, then shot in the head.._. twice_ before being buried in a shallow grave and left to die.

But through some miraculous set of circumstances she will survive to see another day.

_Life in the Mojave is about to change..._

**~~~~~~~~*Alésia*~~~~~~~~**

_**Authors Notes:** Firstly, a big thank you to anyone who takes the time to read through this little project of mine. Constructive comments/criticism along with reviews are always appreciated._

_All characters and content created by **Bethesda/Obsidian** are property of their respective owners but the personalities and stories of the Lone Wanderer and Courier belong to me along with any original characters and locations._

_Secondly, this is the final part of a rather lengthy series I've created centered around the Lone Wanderer and Courier Six that spans from Fallout 3 to New Vegas via four full length pieces and several stand alone shorts. This part is based on a HEAVILY MODDED Fallout: New Vegas play through and though I use the main story line from the game to a large extent, many creative liberties have been taken with the world setting and locations that didn't agree with me by either changing them drastically or eliminating them all together. Many other plot points have been changed and some stories that were never told have been given more character or logical explanations that were bypassed in the game. I will also be incorporating at least the Lonesome Road DLC into the main story, however Dead Money and Honest Hearts will be their own works. I'm not sure yet on my plans for Old World Blues as it doesn't really fit with the story I'm trying to create. I'm sorry if it seems like the story is moving kind of slow in the beginning chapters, but this is planned to be a pretty long fic, around 40+ chapters tentatively._

_And lastly, this story is rated **M** because Alésia is extremely foul-mouthed and there's going to be lots of drugs, gambling, sexy times, violence ... well you get the picture, its Vegas! Also, this is a lesbian romance, so if you aren't down with femslash, too bad._

_**Chapter notes:** This is just your basic prologue using quotes from the intros to various Fallout games (like most everyone does) to get me in the writing mood. I was going to write up the courier's death, but I thought starting two chapters with wake up scenes one right after the other was kind of redundant and over doing it, so I decided to rely on flashbacks instead. Anyway, The story will kick off for real in the next chapter, written in first person, present tense which I've never done before so hopefully it wont just utterly suck. But, I've been trying for eight months to get this story off the ground in my normal third person, past tense and it's gone nowhere, so gotta go with how the ideas are flowing._


End file.
